Spring planting help

Spring planting help

Tue Mar 28, 2017 12:26 am

I'm in zone 7 in Maryland and this will be the first thing I have ever tried to grow. When should I direct sow kale, chard and spinach seed in my containers? Should I wait until the average last frost date or can I do it earlier?

Re: Spring planting help

Tue Mar 28, 2017 1:13 am

Kale is cold hardy and so is spinach. I do start kale in pots mainly because I only need a couple of plants. I soak the spinach seeds overnight to speed germination and I direct sow.Spinach can germinate in 45-65 degrees, so you should be able to sow soon. Chard can be planted 2-3 weeks before the last frost date. For zone 7 Maryland that is April 15, so you should be good to start all of your seeds now. Chard is cut and come again so I only need a few plants so I sow the seeds in pots and transplant them out. Since chard can tolerate warmer conditions, succession plantings can be made to extend the harvest.